Interbike Review: New for 2005

By Ed Cangialosi, interviewed here

There are a variety of new and exciting products coming to our shores and being developed within them by the creative folks in the world-wide cycling community.

Fresh from the EICMA tradeshow in Milan the new products range from Campagnolo’s entry into the flat bar shifter market to continued advances in carbon technology and aluminum tube formation. At Interbike ‘04 in Las Vegas, I got to speak with many of the folks with new products about what they are doing. Here are a few of the things that I learned about in my Italo-centric survey.

Carbon Fiber
The new season is dominated by carbon fiber and its use in nearly every aspect of the bicycle.

While that statement may not come as a surprise there is an almost bewildering array of descriptions for the molding process and types of carbon fiber being used. Some people in the industry argue that your carbon parts are only as good as the raw material you use to make the parts with while others emphasize the manufacturing process. My feeling is that it depends on what the individual manufacturers have chosen to invest in.

The nicest raw carbon, so to speak, is what some refer to as high modulus carbon wherein the fiber strands are cleaned of any extraneous material–no frays or split ends–resulting in an expensive, but very structurally clean carbon fiber. Companies including Look describe their carbon as high modulus. It seems this is best suited to things like frames where the higher expense can be justified. New carbon frame manufacturer, Issac, which is an Anglo-German venture emphasizes their use of high modulus carbon. Another style of carbon is the short strand carbon fiber as employed by Campagnolo which allows for a high quality product that does not require quite as much hand work to make into a properly finished product. Campagnolo uses this short strand style on their cranks and derailleur parts to good effect where you don’t have long tubes like in a frame. The thinking here, from what I can tell, is that the long strands will react better to the forces exerted on a frame and yield a better ride while the short strand style is more suited to components like cranks that need to resist flex instead of absorb shock. Next on the list is injection molding where the carbon is really more like particles in a mix of matrix goop. This is a less expensive style and seems suited to parts that are not being asked to do quite as much with regard to the ride quality of a bike. Suitable applications would be seen in pedals and other parts like derailleur plates where stiffness is needed in a concentrated small area.
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A lot of engineering goes into shoes. The carbon soles of shoes is a good example of the differing styles and claims that are being made for each company’s manufacturing process. DMT for example is making soles for both Time and the Nike shoes that Lance wears. They call their carbon “aeronautic grade” because it is of the quality that is used for jets and the like. This sole looks to have a different weave than what we are used to seeing–of course most of the carbon weave we see is purely cosmetic so it is hard to judge without riding in the shoes.

Cranksets
Deda’s introduction of a gorgeous carbon crank highlights the new generation of compact cranksets. Deda’s compact crank will come with 34/50 rings, but unlike the much anticipated Campagnolo compact crank, it is also available with the now standard 39/53 ring set up for great flexibility. The D-Power is made with wafered carbon fiber technology that gives the cranks resistance and rigidity that is unmatchable in light alloys. It is not clear to me what exactly is meant by wafered, but it implies a multiple layer structure to derive its strength and stiffness.
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The trend to Compact cranksets for the road happened in the off road market over a decade ago for the same reasons we see it now happening to road equipment. Making the chainrings smaller means less rotating weight, but also allows for the use of a close ratio cassette like 11-21, saving more weight. The additional benefits to this size reduction in front and back are a shorter chain which saves a few grams while delivering quicker, cleaner shifts and being able to run a close ratio cassette means the rider is able to maintain a steadier cadence for increased efficiency and lower energy expenditure. Another benefit to a compact crankset is the possibility of doing away with a triple when combining a wider ratio cassette such as a 13-29 and therefore easing climbing effort with all the benefits of lower weight and cleaner sifting mentioned above.

For comparison a 50 x 11 gear is equal to a 53 x 11.7 gear and a 34 x 23 would be equivalent to a 39 x 26.

Framesets
Carbon is still on the rise, but there is new technology keeping the aluminum alive as well. For aluminum frames the word of the year is “Hydroforming”.

Tubes have been formed in many ways. Steel tubes were rolled and welded from flat sheet steel. At one point it was a big deal to have seamless non-rolled and welded steel tubing. The technology developed for extrusion–think of a tube of pasta being shaped it was applied to steel as well as aluminum and titanium.
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For carbon pieces the bladder mold has been the technique employed. The function is the same as a pneumatic wine grape press wherein the juice is extracted by an expanding bladder forcing the grapes against the sides of the press allowing the juice to run out. In the forming of carbon tubes and frames the carbon matrix material is pressed to the interior shape of the mold via a bladder that is filled with air. The trick was and is to avoid air pockets between the mold and bladder because these voids would cause imperfections. A monocoque frame is molded with a single bladder in a large mold. Some frames are molded in smaller pieces–front, and rear triangle and then press/glue fitted together and still others are done with the more traditional lug concept updated. Lugs in carbon are made and tubing of carbon is mad